Red Wolves miss out on Sun Belt championship game

Once Arkansas State officially put away Texas State, all eyes turned to Monroe, La.

The Red Wolves (8-4, 5-3) needed Louisiana-Monroe (66, 4-4) to defeat Louisiana (75, 5-3) in order to leap both teams and advance to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game Saturday against Appalachian State (9-2, 7-1).

Arkansas State did its job, rolling over the Bobcats (3-9,

1-7), 33-7, on Saturday in San Marcos, Texas. The rest was up to the Warhawks.

Trailing 31-28, the Warhawks missed a 36-yard field goal as time expired in regulation and lost to the Ragin’ Cajuns.

With three Sun Belt losses and a 47-43 head-to-head loss at Louisiana on Oct. 27, Arkansas State missed the cut.

“I’m proud of the guys, it’s just bittersweet, obviously,” said Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson. “We were hoping Monroe would get the job done and give ourselves a chance.

“But it’s a great lesson to learn. You can’t let a game slip midseason. Every game is huge. This one will sit with us for a while.”

Arkansas State needed one quarter to unload on Texas State.

Senior quarterback Justice Hansen found his favorite option, receiver Kirk Merritt, for two touchdowns in a win-sealing, 21-point third quarter.

From 60 and 39 yards, Merritt scored his Red Wolves-leading sixth and seventh receiving touchdowns of the season. Merritt gained 153 receiving yards on six catches.

Hansen’s two touchdowns moved his career total to 83, which now stands alone as the second-most in Sun Belt Conference history.

Sandwiched between Merritt’s scores, senior wide receiver Justin McInnis scooped up a blocked punt and returned it for a 17-yard touchdown with 8:47 remaining in the third quarter. McInnis’ score was Arkansas State”s first special teams touchdown of the season.

“To me, that was huge,” Anderson said.

Sophomore linebacker Tajhea Chambers forced and recovered the fumble well before acquiring a fourth-quarter safety to bump the team’s total to 30. Freshman kicker Blake Grupe chipped in 30-yard field goal in the fourth to make it 33.

Arkansas State fixed a sluggish first half by scoring 26 unanswered points in the second.

“Texas State had a good plan,” Anderson said. “Run the clock down and kind of make it frustrating for us.”

The Red Wolves ended the first quarter with a nine-play, 67-yard scoring drive. Senior running back Warren Wand, who finished with a season-high 145 yards, snapped a scoreless tie with a eight-yard rush as 25 seconds remained in the opening quarter.

Texas State drove deep into Arkansas State’s territory and failed to score on two first-quarter possessions inside the 30-yard line.

Texas State outgained Arkansas State, 204-189, and held the ball for 17:14 minutes of the half. Wand’s early touchdown was the difference in an opening half the Bobcats dictated.

It took time, but Texas State’s offensive break eventually came.

True freshman running back Alec Harris legged out a

57-yard touchdown on his first career carry with 12:41 remaining in the third quarter.

Harris’ touchdown made a short-lived 7-7 tie.

Hansen found Merritt for the 60-yarder two minutes after Harris’ touchdown. And then he found him again with

3:52 remaining in the third. Four consecutive wins and a successful climb out of a threeloss hole later, Arkansas State’s

26-point win was soured by the Warhawks.

“A lot of people gave up on us,” Anderson said. “Our guys didn’t … At any point, they could’ve cracked and quit. They didn’t do that.”